Freeing Trade in North America
Freeing Trade in North America

Author: Greg Anderson

Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published: 2020-03-02

Total Pages: 197

ISBN-13: 0228000777

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Conceived in an era of rapid post–Cold War economic liberalization, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), signed in 1994, brought together Canada, Mexico, and the United States with the aim of creating a regional trade bloc that eliminated the friction and costs of trade between the three nations. Without an overarching institutional framework, NAFTA never sought to attain the levels of integration achieved by the European Union – for many it was a missed opportunity – and never quite fulfilled its potential as a single market. And under Donald Trump's administration a trilateral trade agreement has become increasingly precarious. Freeing Trade in North America explains the theory behind the politics and economics of trade in North America, offering an accessible and concise analysis of the key provisions, shortcomings, and past revision efforts of the governments involved. At a time of increasing protectionism and heightened awareness of trading relationships, the book highlights the lessons to be learned from the fraught history of one of the largest trade blocs in the world.

Drug Violence, the Peso, and Northern Border Retail Activity in Mexico
Drug Violence, the Peso, and Northern Border Retail Activity in Mexico

Author: Thomas M. Fullerton (Jr.)

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 32

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"Exchange rate fluctuations and international business cycles may acutely affect retail sales in border regions where residents have the option of shopping in the neighboring country. This study examines the determinants of retail sales in six cities located along Mexico's northern border. Retail activity in these cities is found to increase in tandem with real depreciations of the peso, lower unemployment rates in neighboring US countries, and increased border crossings. Taken together, these results suggest that cross-border shopping contributes to retail activity in the northern border region of Mexico. The opportunities for cross-border shopping may also condition the impact of violent crime on border-region retail sales. In recent years northern Mexico has been deeply affected by a crime wave associated with competition among drug cartels. Homicides related to organized crime are found to have a statistically significant negative impact on retail sales. A surge in crime levels may stifle retail activity in affected areas as extortion and attacks force some stores to close or reduce operating schedules at the same time that some potential customers elect to shop in relatively safer districts across the international divide."--Page 4.

The Legacy of 9/11
The Legacy of 9/11

Author: Andrea Charron

Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published: 2023-07-15

Total Pages: 218

ISBN-13: 022801798X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

While 9/11 was understood at the time as a world-changing event in international relations, its uneven aftermath and the long-term effects for North America could not have been predicted. Twenty years later, The Legacy of 9/11 explores the political, economic, security and defence, and trade and border implications of the event. Written by a team of North American experts across many fields, the book foregrounds the fallout of 9/11 in Mexico and Canada as opposed to the more commonly discussed impact on the United States. Looking at the event and its aftermath through four lenses – ideas about North America; border, trade, and economics; security and society; and defence – contributors analyze the complex legacy of 9/11. Rather than serving as a catalyst to create an integrated, trilateral continent, 9/11 entrenched the North America we have today: three separate states with emphasis on two very different borders. From a reconsideration of internationalism, a rise in populism, and a shift in migration patterns to the interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, The Legacy of 9/11 uncovers how successive North American governments reacted in surprising ways to the world-altering attack.

21st Century Cooperation
21st Century Cooperation

Author: Antoni Estevadeordal

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-05-18

Total Pages: 399

ISBN-13: 1351735551

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This edited volume explains the importance of regional public goods (RPGs) for sustainable development and shows why they are particularly important in the context of 21st-century international relations. By presenting a new and original data set and by presenting original essays by renowned scholars, this book lays the foundation for what will become an increasingly important focus for both economic development and international relations as well as for their intersection. The volume contains four parts. The first introduces the core issues and concepts that are explored throughout the book as well as a new and original data set on RPGs. The second part further develops specific concepts important for understanding 21st-century RPGs: regional leadership, alliances, networks, and outcomes. The third examines how cooperation takes place worldwide for a range of important RPGs. Finally, the fourth part discusses how public goods are produced in specific regions, stressing that each region has a distinct context and that these contexts overlap in a decentered "multiplex" manner. Global economic cooperation will be different in the 21st century, and this volume will be of interest to students and scholars of global governance, economic development, international political economy, sustainable development, and comparative regionalism.

Transport Prices and Costs in Africa
Transport Prices and Costs in Africa

Author: Supee Teravaninthorn

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13: 0821376551

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Transport prices for most African landlocked countries range from 15 to 20 percent of import costs. This is approximately two to three times more than in most developed countries. It is well known that weak infrastructure can account for low trade performance. Thus, it becomes necessary to understand what types of regional transport services operate in landlocked African nations and it is critical to identify the regulation disparities and provision anomalies that hurt infrastructure efficiency, even when the physical infrastructure, such as a road transport corridor, exists. Transport Prices and Costs in Africa analyzes the various reasons for poor transport performance seen widely throughout Africa and provides a compelling case for a number of national and regional reforms that are vital to the effort to address the underlying causes of high transport prices and costs and service unpredictability seen in Africa. The book will greatly help supervisory authorities throughout the region develop and implement a comprehensive transport policy that will facilitate long-term growth.